Bitstream News from under the radar

This month sees the publication of No Regrets: Writings On Scott Walker, an in depth survey of the life and music of one of the most mercurial and enigmatic figures in contemporary music. Published by Orion Books in association with The Wire, No Regrets has been edited by the magazine’s Contributing Editor Rob Young, and covers all aspects of Walker’s music, from The Walker Brothers to The Drift, in a series of newly commissioned essays by several of The Wire’s staff and contributors, including Biba Kopf, Derek Walmsley, Nina Power, David Toop, David Stubbs and Brian Morton, as well as a number of other Scott observers and experts, such as musicians Damon Krukowski and Anthony Reynolds, and film maker Stephen Kijak, director of the 2006 documentary Scott Walker: 30 Century Man. The book also contains a 20,000 word essay by Ian Penman that reassesses Walker’s so-called lost years of the late 1960s and early 70s; an extract appears on page 26 of this month’s issue. The book will be published on 17 May, and will be the subject of the June edition of The Wire Salon, which will feature a talk by Rob Young elaborating on some of the themes developed in the book. The Salon, which takes place at London’s Cafe Oto on 12 June, will also include a panel discussion featuring several of the book’s contributors.

Meanwhile, this month’s edition of the Salon takes place at Cafe Oto on 10 May and will feature an illustrated talk by author Pat Thomas based on his new book Listen Whitey! The Sights And Sounds Of Black Power 1965–1975. The talk will be followed by a panel discussion with Paul Gilroy, John Akomfrah and others: see Out There. orionbooks.co.uk, cafeoto.co.uk

Scott Walker

“An international celebration of the art and science of sound” takes place in London next month. Supersonix will comprise artist residencies, installations, and three days of talks, presentations, lectures and performances covering a wide variety of contemporary sound theory and practice. The symposium has been organised by the Exhibition Road Cultural Group of major London museum and gallery spaces, and is co-sponsored by The Wire. Speakers and performers include Jacob Kirkegaard, Bernhard Leitner, Jana Winderen, Rebecca Horn, Kaffe Matthews, David Toop, Mira Calix, Aleks Kolkowski, David Cunningham and many more. Supersonix takes place at various venues around Exhibition Road in West London between 21-23 June. exhibitionroad.com/supersonix

Finnish wyrd folk label Fonal (home to Islaja, Kemialliset Ystävät and Lau Nau) is struggling to cover costs of vinyl production, and has set up a donations page where fans wanting to offer support can donate between €1 and €500. “What we hope to achieve is a few random donations now and then to cover our losses,” says label head Sami Sänpäkkilä. fonal.com

Minutemen/Stooges bass player Mike Watt is publishing a collection of his photography, poetry and diary entries this month titled Mike Watt: On And Off Bass. Watt will be launching the book at two events in the US this month, one in New York with a guest appearance by J Mascis (2 May), one in Los Angeles with performances from Watt with The Missingmen (5 May). threeroomspress.com

Norwegian vocalist and composer Maja Ratkje has been announced as composer in residence for the 2012 edition of the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, which takes place 16–25 November. hcmf. co.uk

Sun Araw (aka Cameron Stallones) will be bringing his collaboration with The Congos and M Geddes Gengras to the stage in the UK this summer, playing at London’s Village Underground on 22 June. The album Icon Give Thank is out now on RVNG Intl. villageunderground.co.uk

Details are emerging of Julian Cope’s Copendium, a collection of album reviews and other music writings, many of which originally appeared on his Head Heritage website. Cope digs his way through Krautrock, Metal, psychedelia, jazz and more in a text that promises to tell the untold musical history of the heavy and the weird. Faber is also publishing a limited edition five months ahead of the book’s proper release in November. The deluxe version will set you back £200, and comes with two CD compilations and an invite to an event at London’s Rough Trade East which is only open to those buying the book. faber.co.uk

Online electronic music boutique Bleep has released a compilation of new tracks by previously unreleased electronics producers. Titled Filtered, the ten tracks were whittled down from more than 4000 submissions, and the album is available now. filtered-music.com

Vocoder historian turned Miami Bass chronicler Dave Tompkins has produced a three track 7" of his favourite 1980s vocoder tracks. Pressed on recycled vinyl (meaning they are all different colours) in screenprinted sleeves, the 7"s are being sold with copies of the paperback edition of Tompkins’s acclaimed history of the vocoder, How To Wreck A Nice Beach. stopsmilingstore.com

Neneh Cherry, stepdaughter of Don Cherry, is releasing an album with Scandinavian jazz trio The Thing. The album includes an unlikely clutch of cover versions, including tracks by Suicide, MF Doom, ex-Tricky vocalist Martina Topley-Bird, Ornette Coleman, Don Cherry himself, and “Dirt” by The Stooges. smalltownsupersound.com

Editions Mego adds yet another label to its stable this month with the launch of Recollection GRM, which has been set up to reissue work from the archive of the Groupe de Recherches Musicales in Paris. Releases are scheduled to arrive every two to three months, starting with Pierre Schaeffer’s Le Trièdre Fertile, and Guy Reibel’s Granulations-Sillages/Franges Du Signe – both have been remastered and repackaged with new artwork by Stephen O’Malley. editionsmego.com/recollection-grm

My Bloody Valentine are set to rerelease their albums Isn’t Anything and Loveless, plus a collection of EPs, in remastered form.

New and exclusive on thewire.co.uk this month

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Music and videos from AtomTM, Mary Halvorson and Sean McCann, an unreleased album by Benedict Drew, and a sound poetry mix

Plus: news and listings updated daily Listen again Adventures In Sound And Music and Rewired radio shows updated weekly thewiremagazine.tumblr.com Sleeve art showcase updated peripatetically

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